Cats Paying Dues

A Tap Dance Company by Andrew Nemr

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CPD at TED

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Andrew Nemr Troop performs at TED Fellows Retreat - Fellows talks Session One, August 26-30, 2015, Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA. Photo: Ryan Lash/TED
Andrew Nemr Troop performs at TED Fellows Retreat – Fellows talks Session One, August 26-30, 2015, Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA. Photo: Ryan Lash/TED

Cats Paying Dues opened and closed the first session of the TED Fellows retreat back in August 2015. It was an awesome experience to bring tap dance to the TED stage and share the opportunity with a group of local San Fransisco tap dancers. We met them all the day before the show and put together a brand new piece reflecting on the unique nature of tap dance and the tap dance community based on those old standards the Shim Sham, and B.S. Chorus.

Check out the article about the event and a super cool video of the performance on the TED Ideas Blog here.

Auditions – Summer 2015

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CPD Audition Image

Super excited to open the doors again for auditions!! Following a highly successful 10th Anniversary season, we’re seeking all types, strong tap dancers, with improvisational skills, singing a plus, for our 2015-2016 season. Check out all the details below and we hope to see on on July 19th!!

When:
Sunday, July 19th, 1pm

Where:
DANY Studios
305 West 38th Street
New York, NY 10018
(at 8th Avenue)

What:
Seeking males & females, 18-26, all ethnicities, with a solid foundation in rhythm tap; improvisational skills and singing/acting experience a plus. If you’ve already auditioned for us before, please come again, we’d like to see you. Bring a headshot and resume (stapled together), and be ready to dance.

CPD10 Celebration Brought Tons of Love to TPAC

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Wow!! What an amazing week. So many people contributed to making CPD10 the success that it was. We’d like to thank our amazing creative team of Rob Harari (Production/Sound Design) and Nicholas Houfek (Lighting Design) who brought each suite to life in the space, while Colyn Fiendel (Stage Manager) made sure everything went smoothly behind the scenes.  The staff and crew at Tribeca Performing Arts Center hosted us with constant professionalism as we put Three Suites on its legs. None of this would have been possible without the financial support and continued encouragement of our kickstarter backers. Additional support came from the Ahmanson Charitable Community Trust, the Harnisch Foundation, and the Artist in Residence program of the Center for Faith and Work (who commissioned Entering the Waters).

Special thanks to Byblos Restaurant for hosting our VIP Reception.

To learn more about our charity partner visit Cedar Home for Girls here.

CPD10 has come to an end, but we’re really excited about what next season will hold, and we’re looking forward to sharing the journey with you!

Photo Credit: Jerry LaCay

Three Suites Opening Night Celebrates CPD10!!

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What an amazing opening night!!! A house filled with special people with whom we shared stories and new work that have never been shared before. Such a pleasure to share the stage with House of Waters, too. These musicians are AMAZING!!!

Special thank you to our creative team, Rob Harari and Nicholas Houfek, our stage manager, Colyn Fiendel, and the whole crew at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

If you haven’t already bought your tickets get them quick. Only five more performances!!!

Get Your Tickets Now

Lane Harwell to Moderate May 16th Artist Talk Back

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We’re so excited to announce that Lane Harwell, executive director of Dance/NYC, will moderate the artist talk back following the May 16th 2pm performance of Three Suites. The artist talk-back is open to all audience members and will happen in the theatre directly following the performance!

We hope you can join us and Lane as we discuss the arts (and specifically the performing arts) as an integral part of the culture of a city, the milestone of 10 years for a dance company, and the joys of collaboration inside and outside the artistic process.

Get your Tickets Here

Mother’s Day Special OFFER

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Mother's Day SALE

Haven’t bought tickets to the world premier of Three Suites yet? What have you been waiting for? How about this:

Buy a $33 ticket this weekend, and get the second one half off!!

It’s the perfect, albeit last minute, Mother’s day gift. Give your mother the gift of dance! Although it doesn’t have to be your mother to get the discount…

ENTER DISCOUNT CODE: CPDMOM

Limit two tickets per purchase. Discount applies to purchase of regularly priced $33 tickets. Discount code valid until 10AM, Monday, May 11th. Get your tickets today!!

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What are Three Suites?

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In celebration of the company’s 10th Anniversary we decided to make a different kind of show. Not a full evening narrative like All For Love or Echoes In Time but rather a kind of sampling of the various aesthetics we’ve been drawn to over the years. With that in mind Three Suites was born as an evening in three parts – each its own world of rhythm, story, character, and style. Some parts can trace their seed to the very beginnings of the company, while others point to the future of Cats Paying Dues as a space of continual collaboration and exploration. Here’s a little more about each suite:

Ever for Love – This first suite harkens back to CPD’s first show at the Mainstage Theatre at Playwrights Horizons, All For Love. Tap dance combines with popular song, the lyrics of which tell the journey of Love – the patience, the recognition, the doubt, the choice – while the dancing brings the story to life.

Remembrances – Reaching back through the cumulative history of humanity for timeless rhythms, lyrics, and songs Remembrances speaks to the common yearnings of the human experience. Our collective sense of longing for a time yet to be remembered, but known to be true, is expressed through both a capella tap dancing and the combination of tap dance and live vocals (performed by the dancers themselves).

Entering the Waters – To enter into a new space, to discover a new reflection of yourself through relationship, to encounter the friction between communal traditions and social norms and your individuality – this is the experience of Entering the Waters. A collaboration with Max ZT and House of Waters and commissioned by the Center for Faith and Work (New York City), Entering the Waters charts a future for CPD as a platform for the creation of original collaborative works.

Now that you’ve discovered a little more about each suite we hope to see you at their world premiere May 13th-17th at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Hear more directly from Andrew Nemr and Max ZT during an artist talk back following the May 16th 2pm show.

Entering the Waters – Center for Faith and Work AIR Recipient!!

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CFW-Logo

Our artistic director, Andrew Nemr, has been awarded an Artist In Residency from the Center for Faith and Work for a proposal of Cats Paying Dues’ collaboration with Max ZT and House of Waters. The collaboration, entitled Entering the Waters, will be featured the in the upcoming WORLD PREMIERE of THREE SUITES at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

Check out the Sneak Peek Trailers for Entering the Waters here.

Performance Schedule

May 13th, 8pm
May 14th, 8pm
May 15th, 8pm
May 16th, 2pm
May 16th, 8pm
May 17th, 2pm

VIP* Tickets for May 13th performance include Post-Show reception

All tickets for May 16th performance include Post-Show Artist Talk Back.

Get Your Tickets Here

All performances benefit Cedar Home for Girls (Nabay, Lebanon)

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*VIP Tickets include prime seating, post-show reception hosted by Byblos Restaurant, heavy hors d’oeuvres, champaign, full cash bar, and live music.
Transportation from the theatre to Byblos will be provided.